Birmingham City Council (26 000 688)
Category : Transport and highways > Parking and other penalties
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 May 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council responded to his concerns about the payment system for Penalty Charge Notices (PCN’s). This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that the payment system for Penalty Charge Notices is confusing. He also complains about how the Council handled his complaint.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X complained to the Council the payment system for Penalty Charge Notices was confusing. He said it might be difficult for people with disabilities.
- The Council told Mr X the payment system is provided by Central Government. It has no control over how the system works. It said it would pass on his feedback.
- I will not investigate this complaint. The law says I cannot investigate the actions of Central Government. I have considered the steps the organisation took to consider the issue. There is no fault in how it took the decision and I therefore cannot question whether that decision was right or wrong.
- It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman